


This Side of Paradise

by fanaticreader16



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anya & Lexa Are Siblings (The 100), F/F, Fluff and Angst, Lexa & Raven Reyes Friendship, Popular Clarke, Shy Lexa (The 100), Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:21:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26932066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fanaticreader16/pseuds/fanaticreader16
Summary: At 15 years old there are 5 things about which Lexa is absolutely certain (everything else is pretty much a crapshoot, as far as Lexa’s concerned, so it’s nice to know that some things can be counted on). Anyways, 5 things are absolutely reliable in Lexa’s life: Number 1: Anya is the best and coolest big sister ever; 2. Raven Reyes is the most amazing best friend she could ask for; 3. Lexa is so gay (hopelessly so, according to Anya); 4. She’s in love with Clarke Griffin; which brings her to #5: Clarke Griffin doesn’t know she exists.
Relationships: Clarke Griffin/Lexa
Comments: 22
Kudos: 76





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this is an exciting one for me. It’s going to be my first on purpose multi chapter fic. It’s a bunch of my favorite things: shy Lexa! protective Anya! Raven & Lexa brotp! possibly eventual Ranya! First chapter is a little short, but I think they’ll be getting longer. Not sure how long this fic will be at this point. I have a vague outline in my head, but kind of just seeing where the story takes me as I write it.
> 
> So my muse has been kind to me lately (fingers crossed it stays that way), so I’m actually a bit ahead on this story. Hoping I’ll be able to update weekly, but no promises that I’ll actually be able to stick to that. Fingers crossed.
> 
> Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoy it!! Also, titles are hard, and mine is from the Hayley Kiyoko song titled the same.

“Hey Lex, wait up!”

Lexa turned around and smiled at her best friend, stopping to wait for her in the parking lot.

“Hey Rae. You ready for this?”

Raven smirked as she caught up, “Obviously! Got everyone lured into a false sense of security last year, and this year I take over and rule the school!”

Lexa laughed and turned so they could continue walking towards the school. Raven nudged her arm with her elbow.

“What about you, you okay?” she asked, knowing that despite her friend’s stoic appearance, new places and experiences could make Lexa nervous. Even though they’d been at this school last year as freshmen, the start of a new school year tended to bring out Lexa’s anxiety at least a little bit.

Lexa gave her friend a small smile, “Ya, I’m okay. Glad you’re here though. Lincoln had weight training before school this morning. Anya said she’d pick us up after school, though, if you want, and I thought maybe we could get her to take us for ice cream and you could  
come over?”

Raven tapped her chin and pretended to think about it. “Ice cream plus your hot sister? That’s a tough decision, but I guess I could make time in my busy schedule to be there.”

Lexa made a face at Raven calling Anya hot, but laughed at her, happy that she’d lucked into having a friend like Raven Reyes. Raven wouldn’t say it was luck, she’d call it destiny, in that dramatic way of hers. Raven had transferred to Lexa’s school last year, and Lexa, as one of the top students, had been assigned to show her around and answer any questions she had. Raven had taken one look at quiet, shy Lexa and immediately declared that they would be friends. Lexa was in awe of Raven’s confidence; she was the new kid and seemed to have no fear whatsoever, and she could do nothing but nod along with Raven’s declaration. Now, she’s so glad she did, because Raven is an amazing and loyal friend. Even Anya liked her, and Lexa knew how difficult it was to earn her sister’s approval.

Lexa glanced up as she and Raven joined the stream of students walking towards the cluster of buildings that made up the high school. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of blonde and instinctively turned her head. Her heart started beating faster when she saw her laughing with a group of her friends. She shook her head slightly and pushed the blonde to the back of her mind. It was the beginning of sophomore year and she was with her best friend. She had more important things to worry about than Clarke Griffin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clearly I was overly optimistic about my posting schedule, so sorry about that! I had this chapter written, and then I rewrote it, and then again, and I think I rewrote it 3 or 4 times, and I'm still not *completely* happy with it, but I'm posting it so I don't change the entire plot of the story (again). Hopefully it's not too terrible! Enjoy, and thanks for reading!
> 
> Trigger warning!: Lexa is outed to her classmates by someone at school. Read with caution and never out someone.

At 15 years old there are 5 things about which Lexa is absolutely certain (everything else is pretty much a crapshoot, as far as Lexa’s concerned, so it’s nice to know that some things can be counted on). Anyways, 5 things are absolutely reliable in Lexa’s life: 

1\. Anya is the best and coolest big sister ever.  
2\. Raven Reyes is the most amazing best friend she could ask for.  
3\. Lexa is so gay (hopelessly so, according to Anya).  
4\. She’s in love with Clarke Griffin; which brings her to  
5\. Clarke Griffin doesn’t know she exists.

Okay, that’s a bit dramatic. Clarke knows she exists; she at least knows _of_ Lexa. _Everyone_ knew of Lexa after 7th grade. Before that, she’d been pretty much invisible. She was shy and liked to keep to herself, so it didn’t really bother her. She had her friend Murphy at school, and she talked to Harper and Emori sometimes, and then outside of school she had Anya and that worked just fine for her. And then middle school started, and even though Lexa tried to carry on with her routine, hormones were going wild, kids were starting to grow up, and Harper and Emori (along with basically every other girl in school) were talking about boys, but Lexa was noticing _girls_. She had a minor pre-teen crisis (because why wait until midlife for a crisis?) and then made herself sit down and talk to Anya. Anya was the smartest person she knew, her big sister and her best friend, the person Lexa went to with any and all of her problems. So little 12-year old Lexa took her big sister into the room they were sharing at their then foster home (now permanent home, since Gustus adopted them the following year when Lexa was in 8th grade), and sat her down on her bed. Lexa looked at Anya with her most serious expression, took a deep breath, and then got flustered and ended up just blurting out, “Girls!” before covering her face with her hands and wanting to die of embarrassment. Anya, being Anya, burst out laughing before pulling Lexa into a big hug (and Lexa loved being the one who got to experience Anya’s soft side because she gave the absolute best hugs) and told her to try again, and then hugged her some more when Lexa finally was able to say that she liked girls, not boys.

Lexa felt so good about telling Anya that she decided to tell Murphy the next day because Murphy was the chillest person ever and basically her best friend, even if they didn’t hang out outside of school. He reacted as she expected, with little fanfare, but positively, which was all that mattered to Lexa. A few weeks later, she was still riding a bit of a high from the positive reactions from those closest to her, and there was a dance coming up, and there was only one person she wanted to go with. Luna. She’d been crushing on the girl since the beginning of the semester and decided she was going to step out of her comfort zone and just go for it. She would ask Luna to the dance. Lexa waited for Luna after last period, hoping to ask when no one else was around, just in case (she was elated her coming out had gone so well, but she wasn’t stupid; she knew other people might have a problem with it). Luna had been confused at first (Lexa panicked and blurted it out all at once, too fast to be understood - she thought maybe she should start rehearsing what she wanted to say before saying it) , and then when she realized what Lexa was asking, she blushed and seemed flattered but hesitant, and asked if she could let her know later, which honestly, was an awesome response as far as Lexa was concerned. She smiled, assured Luna that would be fine, and turned around to leave, and that’s when she saw her. Ontari was standing at the end of the hall looking like Christmas came early. 

For some reason, Ontari and Lexa had never gotten along. Ontari seemed to see Lexa, with her small size, her glasses, and her hand-me-down clothes, as an easy target. She was always doing little things to make Lexa’s life more difficult, like shoving her in the hallways, tripping her in gym, and calling her names. Lexa never told anyone because it seemed like more trouble than it was worth, but now she was wishing she had because then maybe Ontari wouldn’t still be out to get her, and Lexa wouldn’t be panicking. Because that’s definitely what was happening. Lexa swore her heart stopped beating before it suddenly started feeling like it was going to beat out of her chest. All the blood drained from her face, and she felt like she might be sick. Ontari smiled, an unpleasant looking smile, and walked away. Lexa tried to tell herself it was nothing, that everything would be fine, but when she got to school the next day, Murphy found her first thing and the look on his face told her that everything was not fine. Ontari had told someone and now everyone knew. And going by the looks she was getting, and the not-so-quiet whispers she could hear, not everyone was okay with it. Murphy was in front of her, trying to block her from curious and judgemental eyes and move her towards the school where they could hopefully find some cover, and Lexa was trying to not have a panic attack, when blonde hair suddenly appeared in her field of vision. The unexpectedness of someone else coming to help startled Lexa enough to bring her out of her head a little, and notice that the mysterious helper also had her hand out behind her, like she was waiting for someone (well, for Lexa) to grab it. So she did, and was immediately pulled into the school building and then the girls’ bathroom, where she discovered that her mystery savior was no other than Clarke Griffin. Clarke Griffin, the most popular girl in school, the head cheerleader, the girl who was *always* surrounded by people, was sitting in the girls’ bathroom with a hyperventilating Lexa and trying to help her come down from her panic. And that was the day Lexa’s crush on Luna started to fade and her crush on Clarke began. Because Clarke sat with her, asking before touching her, chatting about mundane things, until Lexa started to calm down and feel better, and then she hugged Lexa and told her that she was sorry that she had basically been forced out of the closet, and to let her know if anyone gave her shit for it (Lexa wasn’t sure what she’d do, but then, she was the most popular girl in school, so Lexa supposed that position came with some kind of power over the rest of the student population), before delivering her back to Murphy who proceeded to hover over her the rest of the day like the mother hen he secretly was.

And that was it. Well, that was it as far as Clarke and Lexa went. People did make comments at school, but not as many people as she thought might, and she suspected she might have Clarke to thank for that, somehow. But other people were okay with it, or didn’t seem to care at all, and that made the experience a little better. Lexa and Luna went to the dance together (and Luna was pissed off about what Ontari did, and even though nothing romantic ended up happening between the two of them, they remained friendly), Anya had to be physically restrained from going to beat up a 7th grader (although Lexa suspected she had somehow found out that it was Ontari and said something to her, because Ontari hadn’t bothered Lexa since, and always looked terrified when Anya would pick Lexa up from school), and life moved on. Lexa still saw Clarke at school, and for a while they smiled in the hallways, but they weren’t suddenly friends, and Lexa found herself kind of sad about that. She didn’t know why she thought something more might come of that day, that she might’ve made a new friend, but she had, and when nothing outside of the hallway smiles occurred (and even those eventually tapered off), she was disappointed. Clarke still hung out with her crowd, in the middle of everything all the time, and Lexa stayed on the edges with Murphy. But despite her disappointment, Lexa couldn’t forget how Clarke had gone out of her way to help her, when she didn’t have to do anything. And she started noticing Clarke everywhere, and everything she found out about her made her like the girl even more, which made the fact that Clarke didn’t seem to notice her at all even worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think! Fingers crossed I'll get chapter 3 out soon!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought and come talk to me on tumblr: @sarbear1610 :)


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